It was worse than a crime, it was a blunder

What was Watergate really about? At the time, I read the papers diligently, but I could never figure out what started the downward spiral. The break-in to Democratic headquarters? What was the purpose of that? Instead of winning the election 60-40, he wanted to win it 61-39?

After the initial break-in, Nixon did everything wrong. Taping himself in his office--what a bright idea--to preserve for posterity every foul=mouthed or anti-Semitic remark. Not destroying the tapes. The 18 minute break in the tapes. Making a speech announcing, "I am not a crook," a truly cringe-worthy statement, which made me wince at the time.

Later, reading the self-serving memoirs of everyone concerned, I was even more puzzled, but one fact emerged: his aides, assistants and flunkies had way too much time on their hands, time they spent jockeying for position and prestige and stabbing each other in the back. They would have been better off mowing the White House lawn or watering the plants.

So who cares who Deep Throat is, or was? With so many idiots involved, the story was bound to come out. As the expression goes, "two can keep a secret, if one of them is dead."

Anyway, Nixon was a jerk and a lousy president, right up there (0r down there) with Jimmy Carter. He was wrong about just about everything, and felt sorry for himself to boot. We were well rid of him.